ORIGINS Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

origins

noun

plural of origin

as in sources

a point or place at which something is invented or provided the origins of human language remain a matter of considerable debate

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in roots

the source from which something grows or develops the origin of the tradition of giving presents at Christmastime

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in lineages

the line of ancestors from whom a person is descended they could trace their origins back 15 generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of origins For anyone who spends a lot of time online, the series’s AI origins are hard to miss. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026 This team considered the origins of this star using a model of the Milky Way that has been rapidly enriched with elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, which astronomers call metals, via the death of the first generation of stars. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026 The film traces the fabric’s origins in Wakayama, Japan where Loopwheeler’s century-old factory transforms raw yarn into fleece by hand. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026 The ChatGPT maker said its models helped investigators understand the device, trace its origins and identify an employee suspected of planting it several days earlier. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026 The mystique is gone In 2010, making a movie about Facebook’s origins was truly bold. — Andrew McGowan, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Dating Derinkuyu precisely is difficult; claims of Hittite or Phrygian origins (dating roughly to the 8th to 7th centuries BCE or earlier) are common but unproven. — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026 By then, the meme had already become a viral format, and users cared little about its AI origins. — Angela Yang, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026 Its origins lie in the real persecution of Urbain Grandier, a priest in 17th-century France accused of bewitching a convent of nuns. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for origins

Noun

At a moment when historically reliable sources of employment for mid-career comedians—writing for sitcoms and late night, supporting roles in film comedies, commercials—all seem to be in crisis, the podcast business is comparatively lucrative.

— Dan Brooks, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Confidential sources Rahmer acknowledged in his testimony that there are limits to knowing who is a confidential informant or working for agencies outside the FBI.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of sources

Noun

Geese did something similar with last year’s Getting Killed, their own neutron star of an album, gobbling up the tangled lineages of rock, punk, and drone music in New York City with the ravenous appetites of kids weaned on the infinite scroll.

— Walden Green, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
Cell lineages follow paths through this map as development proceeds.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of lineages

Noun

Soft, dynamic cushioning cradles your feet with every step while providing maximum support, providing transition assistance between launch and landing.

— Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 29 Aug. 2026
Egypt, one of the word’s cradles of civilization, is also a vibrant, modern country.

— Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

Definition of cradles

Noun

Inspired by the Spanish luxury house’s own beginnings as an artisanal workshop, the award intends to recognize excellence and innovation in craft in all its forms.

— Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026
And Royal Enfield, which is now one of the most recognizable brands on the planet, has had an even longer, stranger journey from its British beginnings to becoming an Indian motorcycle powerhouse.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of beginnings

Noun

But Shanes questioned whether grouping Jews under a single ethnic category would produce sufficiently specific data for those purposes, or instead obscure differences among Jewish populations with distinct ancestries.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026
This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of ancestries

Noun

Sometimes, though, these genealogies of behavior can seem beside the point, serving only to dull one’s analysis of the situation.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2026
The scientists’ method reconstructs genealogies, or maps showing where different pieces of DNA came from and how they were passed down, revealing branches of our evolutionary past.

— Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of genealogies

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originators

origins

orison

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“Origins.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/origins. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of origins

noun

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